What Doesn't Kill You
by NobleMikaelson
Summary: [Prequel to The Past Ain't Always Dead] Amaleen Blake decides to look around Georgia for awhile, only to wind up in a small town, home to Daryl Dixon. Daryl is stubborn & short-tempered, but she can't seem to stay away. When his family becomes a problem, all Amaleen and Daryl can do is cling to each other and hope they make it. [Daryl/OC]
1. The Start of Something New

_**Story Info**_

 **Title:** What Doesn't Kill You

 **Fandom:** The Walking Dead

 **Rating:** M

 **Pairing:** Daryl/OC

 **Summary:** [Prequel to The Past Ain't Always Dead] Amaleen Blake just ended her undergraduate work at Georgia State University and decides to look around Georgia for a job while she goes to graduate school. Only her plans change when she lands in a small town outside of Atlanta, home to Daryl and Merle Dixon. The older man is hard and stubborn, short-tempered and angry, but for some reason she can't seem to stay away from him no matter how many times he wants her to leave. But with his father and older brother working hard to keep them apart, will they be able to make it, or will their happiness be shattered?

 **Spoilers:** None

.x.x.x.x.

 _ **Chapter Info**_

 **Title:** The Start of Something New

 **Number:** 1/?

 **Warnings:** Language, angst

 **Author's Note:** Hello, everyone, here's the prequel I promised! If you haven't read The Past Ain't Always Dead, that's completely fine. This is the prequel so there wouldn't be a need to read the other story. There wouldn't be any spoilers for it either because it takes place twelve years before the other one does. That means there wouldn't be any of the Atlanta/Farm group in here like there is in the other one, but you will see Daryl and Merle of course. Also this one might be updated slower/less frequently than the other one, and also might not be as long as the plans I have for that one. Anyway, thanks for reading and comments are love! [Note: the story info is only on this chapter, but every chapter will have the chapter info.]

* * *

 **-Ten Years Ago-**

Daryl Dixon woke up as he always did: cursing the sunlight pouring through the window and trying to hide himself from the offensive rays in the back of his girl's neck. He really hated mornings, hated the happy chirping of the birds right outside the window, and hated how all of a sudden there was just a bright ass light shining onto his face. He tried multiple times to put up a blanket to darken the room, but it either fell or Amaleen moved it because she hated that it was so dark. Call him pussy whipped, but he would rather his girl be happy so he gave up trying to put up the blanket and dealt with the early fucking mornings.

Usually he could slip back into sleep for a few minutes as he laid there with Amaleen, but he soon realized that what he was hugging was in fact her pillow and not the woman herself. It still smelled like her, but it was cooling down from disuse. _The hell?_ he wondered, yawning and stretching lazily, eyes blinking open. Amaleen wasn't in bed and as he put his hand there, he realized that it had probably been awhile since she had laid there. Had he actually slept longer than he thought? Was she up and out doing something already? It was a Saturday, she couldn't be at work as there was no school on Saturdays. A glance at the clock told him it was almost nine AM so she couldn't have been up for long without him.

"Amaleen!" he called, his voice hoarse from sleep and he tried to clear it away, but it didn't work. When he heard his silent trailer giving no clues to the whereabouts of his girlfriend, he quirked an eyebrow and decided to drag his lazy ass out of bed. _Maybe she's in the garden_ , he thought, rolling his eyes with a small smirk. Amaleen had just moved in a month ago and despite the fact he told her countless times he "don't need no damn roses growin' in my yard," she wouldn't take no for an answer. She had spent hours on the computer and at the library searching for the right kind of roses and what time of the year they should be blooming. It was just hitting the end of spring so she had said she had to get moving as planting was best in spring so they could bloom in summer.

Grumbling to himself, he stood and stumbled his way from the room in only his boxers. It had taken a long time for him to be comfortable enough with himself and with their relationship to walk around the house without a shirt on. The scars on his back were a glaring reminder of his weakness, a time in his life when he let somebody over power him. True he had been a kid and that person was his father, but the shame was there. The first time she saw them, they were at her place and he ran, ignoring her for a week until she showed up on his door step, soaked to the bone and shivering from the rain and demanding him stop being a fucking idiot and let her in, and then just kissed him before he could even say anything. It was that day he realized just how hard he fell for her, the desperation he felt that night still sung in his veins to that day even though it was almost two years later.

Rubbing his eyes, he went out in the quiet kitchen and saw a pot of coffee already made, and not that sick mud shit that usually happened when he made it. No, it was the good shit that Amaleen made and it tasted amazing. He poured himself a cup of the black coffee, nothing in it of course, and poked his head out the front door. The roses were all planted, but her car was gone. _We got food_ , he thought, frowning as he wondered where she could've gone. He went back in to call her phone when he noticed a note on the table. Rolling his eyes at his lack of notice, he put the mug down to go pick up the note. But once he did, he had to read it a couple times to figure out if he understood it correctly.

 **I couldn't take them anymore, I'm sorry. I love you. -Amaleen**

Blinking quickly, his body started to tremble and his fists slowly bunched at his sides. Running into their room, he yanked the closet open and saw that it was down to being only a quarter full again, the rest taken up by just hangers, like it had been before she moved in. All her stuff in the bathroom was gone, her computer, her phone, her shoes, everything including her. Rage and grief stormed over his body and he didn't know what to do other than smash shit. With a rage filled scream his TV was first, toppling over and smashing to the ground with a spark. Next the dishes, all the food in the cupboards and fridge, pictures on the wall, the deer head over the couch...it was all in tatters and he still wasn't fucking done, because his heart was a lot worse than whatever he just did to the trailer. He was panting, breathing like a raging bull with tears pouring down his face.

She fucking left him and didn't even say goodbye. _Merle was fuckin' right_.

.x.x.x.x.

 **-Two Years Previously-**

As much as her parents tried to talk her out of it, Amaleen refused to move up to New York with her family. Amaleen May Blake was born and raised right there in Georgia and that's where she decided she would always live. She went to school there and would find work there, and live out the rest of her life in the best state in the USA. Sometimes it was lonely, sure, but she had her car phone and once she found a place to live, she had her computer that she could hook up to keep in contact via email. But that was just the thing, she didn't have a place until she found somewhere to work.

Her Georgia State University graduation happened just the week before. Her mother, sick as she was, managed to fly down to visit with her only daughter, while her father kept his stubborn ass up in the north east. She didn't ask and her mom didn't tell and that was fine with her. Most of the time nowadays, as he had been the whole time as she grew up, he was drunk and she didn't want to deal with that at her graduation. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion and he screwed up one to many of those for her to even miss him.

Now that her undergraduate work was done, a bachelor's of arts in English with a minor in folklore sat proudly in the seat next to her as she drove through the Georgia countryside. Graduate school was next for her masters in English to be a professor at GSU, but she could take that online if needed. Try as she might, there was no place she could get into near Atlanta to work while she did school, and her parents decided they wouldn't pay for any more schooling. Well, she knew her father decided that anyway, and though her mother was a lovely woman, what her father said usually went no matter what it was. That's why they were in New York instead of Georgia where Amaleen's entire family was, and where it would be better for her mother's condition. That's what made Amaleen the angriest, but her mother begged her not to say a word, so she reluctantly didn't.

As she drove, she realized she didn't know where she was going, but that didn't matter to her. She liked the sense of not knowing, the sense of adventure she never quite had before. She supposed New York could bring that to her, but she was a Georgia girl and always would be. Once she got tired for the night, she decided to stop in the next small town. **Welcome to Round Rock, Georgia Population 503 Established 1874** the sign said as she pulled into the town zone. _This is an everybody knows your business type of place_ , she thought, knowing that in towns that small, it was sort of a given. She would likely be spotted as she knew that strangers probably were something sort of rare, if the state of the motel was anything to say.

Round Rock Motel was easy to find on the main road, but it was severely run down. There was nobody in the parking lot except for one car which she assumed was the desk clerk. Part of her almost didn't stop, but if she didn't, she would've just fallen asleep on the road. She wondered if this would just turn into a horror movie, stranger in a small town being savaged by the motel employee, but she pushed those thoughts away.

The clerk was a little old lady named Mrs. Clark who owned the place. She and her late husband built it in the 1950s and they lived in a house out back. She also owns the bar across the street, Nick's Tavern, Nick being her late husband. "What in the world are you doin' in town, darlin'?" the woman wondered with a bright smile as she showed Amaleen where her room would be. She seemed harmless enough so Amaleen told her the story. "My word, what a thing to have your momma and daddy so far away at this age! But your so responsible and so brave for bein' so young and doin' it all on your own." She clicked her tongue and opened the door to 103. "Here you are! Best room in the place." She chuckled. "You say your lookin' for work?"

Amaleen nodded. "Anywhere I can get it," she said with a chuckle.

"Well I have a niece who works over at the local elementary as the principal. Now they don't have any spots for teachers, but there's a teacher's aide needed. Degree, but no teaching certificate required. If you're interested, I could pass along your information. If you wanna stay in a town like Round Rock, that is."

Amaleen's mouth opened in shock. "A-are you serious? Mrs. Clark, that would be amazin'! I would love to stay here!" Quickly she reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a paper that had her resume, college course listing, and contact information on it. "I would definitely owe ya somethin' big time if ya could do that."

"It's no trouble, dear! She comes buy for tea with me in the mornings, I could give it to her then and you two could talk."

"That sounds brilliant, thank you!" Amaleen was thrilled and so glad she stopped. If this worked out, she would be set up in no time, able to get an apartment or a small house to live in and stop living out of her car. She couldn't believe it happened so quickly and didn't want to get her hopes up, but Mrs. Clark seemed to like her and hoped it would work out with her niece the next day.

.x.x.x.x.

Mrs. Clark's niece was Heather Ramsay and like she said, she was the principal at Round Rock Elementary School. Amaleen dressed in her most professional clothes that she had with her, ironically the clothes she wore to graduation. She straightened her shoulder-length hair and curled it just slightly and put on the barest amount of makeup. Amaleen never wore heels, she would break her neck, so she just slipped into her regular black flats. It took her ages to pick out the right jewelry, but soon she was walking with her purse thrown over her shoulder towards Mrs. Clark's house just behind the motel. It was nerve wracking and she was sure this wasn't a formal interview, but she believed in always being prepared especially with a potential employer.

Rapping on the door, she waited with her eyes to her feet for someone to answer it. When it swung open, Mrs. Clark was standing there with a large smile on her face. "Why you look lovely, dear!" she exclaimed. "Come in, come in, my niece just got here as well. Tea is always out on the veranda, it's such a beautiful view out there."

Mrs. Clark was right it was beautiful. Amaleen hadn't been able to see it in the dark, but Round Rock was right on the edge of a large river with a mountain towering out in the distance. She understood, too, why it was called Round Rock as there was a boulder the size of a small house sitting on this side of the river, probably having been there long before the town was even founded, and completely round. Amaleen followed behind the woman to the veranda where there was another woman sitting. She looked to be about thirty with soft blonde hair and a genuine smile. Her and Mrs. Clark's clothes were far more casual than Amaleen's, but she didn't care, she still wanted to look her best. Heather's eyes lit up and she got up to come speak to Amaleen.

The tea went great, and by the end of it, they were laughing together like old friends. "Aunt Judy here really does know how to recommend good employees," Heather said with a grin sent to her aunt. "Half of my staff were people hand picked by her. Most of them were just people who needed a new start like you and Aunt Judy saw they were good people, and had me hire them." She paused and took a sip of tea before saying, "Just like I'm doing with you right now."

Amaleen's eyes went wide. "You're hirin' me already? Really?" She didn't want to question her too much, but that was amazing. She figured she would have to talk to a board or something beforehand, but Heather just smiled.

"Of course! You're clearly qualified, and this job is entry level without a teaching certificate needed. You won't be able to teach the kids, but this is just an aide to kind of help keep things in line. You could certainly learn to make lesson plans and all of that, which should help with your master's if you want to be a college professor."

Amaleen was grinning ear to ear and she nodded quickly. She almost felt like crying tears of joy, but held that in as the breakfast broke up and she headed back to her room. She had to meet with Heather to fill out some forms the following morning, but that would be nothing. Just before they all parted ways, Heather called for her to come back. "Why don't you and I celebrate tonight over at Uncle Nick's Tavern? We can talk a little more and get to know each other, plus if you're here without family, it sounds like you could use a friend."

"That sounds wonderful!" Amaleen said. They parted ways with an agreement to meet up that night at seven PM at Nick's and then the next day at nine AM to do the paperwork. Amaleen was over the moon and called her mother first thing when she got back. Her mother was so excited and even the less than thrilled grunt from her father when she told him wouldn't spoil her mood. "And we're going out tonight to a bar across the street called Nick's Tavern," she said as she used some makeup wipes to get everything off her face. "I don't know, Mom, I just feel like tonight will be the day my life changes."


	2. Let's Go Out Tonight

_**Chapter Info**_

 **Title:** Let's Go Out Tonight

 **Number:** 2/?

 **Warnings:** Language

 **Author's Note:** It's been a long time since I've updated this story, but I hope y'all enjoy! Thanks for reading, reviews are love!

 _applebombz_ : Thanks for reading both stories! That means a lot! Hope this doesn't disappoint.

* * *

Heather met Amaleen at her hotel room later that night, dressed in some skinny jeans, cowgirl boots, and a plaid shirt. While Amaleen had never been to this particular bar, she knew how to work bars in small towns. She, too, wore skinny jeans and cowboy boots, but she had a plain black tank-top on and some light, neutral makeup. Despite the fact that nothing was extravagant, she felt particularly cute that night as she finished up curling her hair while Heather kindly waited patiently for her in the other room. Amaleen was just glad she was making a friend already, even if the woman would be her boss once the school year started, which was a couple months away. Getting to know her while she could was important to her, to show her that she didn't make the wrong decision in hiring her so quickly.

As they waited, they chatted a bit before they went over where the loud music and other conversations would be. Amaleen was very much a people-person and it sounded like Heather was as well, which was important in their line of work as they had direct contact with parents, kids, and other staff. The young woman was very excited to get started, wanting to build up her resume and her experience to help her in school, but also later in life when she got a permanent position. It was always her dream to be a professor and teach English, but helping with kids was like a second nature to her. Someday, she knew she would be a great mom.

"Ya have any kids yerself?" Amaleen asked, eyes narrowing as she worked on a particularly stubborn curl and when it finally fell into place, she got it with the hairspray to make sure it stayed.

"Three," Heather answered with a laugh, causing Amaleen to raise her eyebrow as she peaked out at the blonde.

"Really?"

Heather nodded. "Mhm. Two boys and a girl: Toby, Dimitri, and Gracie. Toby and Dimitri are both in our school, fifth and kindergarten respectively, and Aunt Judy babysits Gracie each day."

Amaleen let out a low whistle and finally finished up, cleaning it up with a couple brush swipes before the hairspray and stepped into view. "Good?" she asked. She saw Heather's eyebrows go up.

"Very good," she said with a grin, standing up and grabbing her purse. Amaleen shut off the bathroom light. "Not too showy and just the right side of comfortable."

Amaleen laughed and nodded, grabbing her own purse and making sure her phone, money, and room key was shoved in it. "Great, thank ya." The lights were clicked off and she was ready to go. "Yer kids sound great, though. At home now?"

Heather shook her head as she lead the way over to the bar. Amaleen was kind of nervous; Heather knew everybody there and Amaleen was just a tagalong now, the new girl in town that didn't really know anybody except Heather and Mrs. Clark, and didn't really fit in anywhere. She came from a small town herself, but she knew how those folks treated outsiders and she wasn't really looking forward to being one of them. It's true, each town was different, but she just needed work to eventually put herself through school so she could do what she always dreamed of. Kids and a relationship would have to wait, this was all about her career and her future.

"They're with Aunt Judy," Heather said, glancing around the deserted street just to make sure there were no cars, before walking across it. Her own car had been left back next to Amaleen's. "My...my partner is meeting us over here. She wanted to meet you; I told her how nice you were."

Amaleen smiled, but it was quizzical. "Partner... Work partner?" At the glance from Heather, Amaleen understood and nodded, a hand reaching up to her shoulder. "I'm glad yer with someone that makes y'so happy. I can see y'are. M'looking forward t'meein' her!"

The look of relief on Heather's face pulled at her heartstrings. Amaleen had a cousin, Richie, who had been her best friend growing up. When he was about fifteen, she thirteen, he told the whole family that he preferred boys. Everyone—his parents, her father, their grandparents—went ape-shit crazy and started sending him to councilors and even those Bible camps where they try and pray the gay out of you. But it never worked, and so at age sixteen, he ran away and wasn't heard from since, not even by Amaleen. She hadn't stayed quiet in voicing her opinion and so her grandparents and his parents decided not to speak to her family again. Her mother was on her side, but they were both silenced by her father who yelled so loud that her ears rang for days afterwards and a window pane had actually cracked. If their relationship had been strained before, it shattered after that and it never recovered.

There was no part of Amaleen that would look upon Heather any different, and she truly was excited to meet Heather's partner. If Richie were still around, she would want to meet his as well if he had one. Amaleen was about the love, that's all that mattered. Orientation, color, class, age...none of it mattered, not if people really loved each other. And she was a firm believer that love would win out in the end.

The bar was already in full-swing by the time the two women pushed through the doors. The brunette was surprised that so many people were there, but then again it was summer and it was a Saturday evening. Not a lot of people worked the next day and so they took advantage to head down to the local bar. Amaleen couldn't help but hide slightly behind the blonde as others waved at her as they passed, the door swinging shut gently behind them. Eyes followed her, and she managed a soft smile and a couple waves, before they found a table in the back already occupied by a black-haired beauty that looked more like she belonged on the cover of something like Vogue or Maxim rather than there in a tiny town like Round Rock, Georgia.

The woman broke into a happy smile and got up, reaching for Heather to pull her into a gentle kiss. Amaleen glanced away respectively and saw that not one person in the room glanced at them with any kind of malice. That was definitely different than her old small town, full of people who hated others that were the least bit different than them. Of course, Heather was born and raised right there in Round Rock so it could be they were just used to it, but then again Richie had been raised in Shoulder Port right along with Amaleen. But she was glad they didn't have to go through too much like Richie had, they deserved happiness.

"Amaleen?" Heather's voice drifted her back to the present and Amaleen's eyes flickered back to the couple. The happy smile on her face made Amaleen happy as well. "This is Dasha Zalenski. Dash, this is the one I was telling you about, Amaleen Blake. She's taking Julia's old position."

"It's so nice to meet you!" Dasha exclaimed. She had a hint of a Russian accent, but it was clear she had been in America for awhile as it was nearly gone. "Heather has been telling me so much about you. Welcome to our team!"

"Dasha is a third grade teacher at our school. She's actually the teacher you'll be working with. Julia was her aide, but left to have a baby about four months ago and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. Dash is a great teacher, and she would be happy to sit down with you and go over everything you need to know."

"Oh that's great!" Amaleen exclaimed. "I'm so grateful fer the chance yer givin' me!"

That was the last of the "shop talk," as Heather called it, and the women went back to having a good time. Dasha had already been nursing a white Russian—which admittedly made Amaleen giggle as the woman in question winked at her—so Heather ordered a round of beers and some shots of Jack, insisting on paying for it all. Amaleen tried to argue, but between the look from her two bosses, she lost out and took the drinks gratefully.

Even though she had turned twenty-one about two months previously, Amaleen hadn't done a lot of drinking considering she had still been in school at that point and wanted to do her best to get through her work, especially finals, and needed a clear-head for it. A couple glasses of wine, a beer here and there, but that was it. So her head was spinning a little after the shot of Jack and the beer chaser.

She couldn't stop giggling at the story that Heather was telling about her and Dasha's boys. "I was pregnant with Gracie at the time," she said, "and so Dimitri was three. He was learning how to potty train, which is Dasha's favorite part considering how much she hates diapers. So of course she sent Dimitri in there to do his thing, and even at a young age he always wanted to potty alone, he hated an audience. Dasha was home alone with him and had thought she was clever by making a sign above his little Buzz Lightyear potty with an arrow pointing down that said: ' **Pee Pee & Poo Poo Here**.'" Heather smirked and Dasha sent a narrow-eyed glare to her partner. "Well she left the markers in there with him."

"Oh that doesn't sound good," Amaleen said through a giggle.

Heather shook her head as Dasha let out a "hmph!" and looked away, which just caused more giggles from the other two. "She realized he had been in there for about fifteen minutes without making a sound so she decided to check on him. He got ahold of the markers, and proceeded to decorate the walls around the sign, didn't get a smudge on the paper at all, along with the grown-up potty, and himself. So she not only had to clean up the potty by herself, but him, the grown up potty, and the walls, too. It never fully came off so we had to repaint in there, and that's the story of how we now have a purple bathroom—that's basically the only color that would cover it up."

"In my defense," Dasha said loudly over the sound of louder laughter, "it looks really pretty in there now."

"But Gracie's potty training now, so the color might change again," Heather laughed. "Toby never did that, that we know of." They had already explained that Toby had been adopted by them at the age of five after his parents had died in a car accident. He was already in their school and it just felt to them like the right time to have kids, and he needed help. Dimitri had been carried by Dasha, and Gracie had been carried by Heather. They had found a sperm bank in Atlanta to use, and use the same donor so their kids would at least be half-siblings. Amaleen thought it was all so wonderful, and she already loved their little family, even if she hadn't met the kids yet.

"This time it's your turn," Dasha said through a mumble as she knocked back the rest of her beer and gestured to the bartender for another round. Amaleen hiccuped a little, but she could take another one as long as she went slow.

After the beers had been delivered, the mood in the bar changed as the doors burst open. Amaleen jumped in alarm while Heather and Dasha just groaned in annoyance. After Amaleen's heart had steadied back out, she peaked over the heads of the other bar patrons and saw that none of them were particularly happy about the people that just entered. While most people around them were seated, there was still a dance-floor between them and the door so she couldn't see the person.

"Who's that?" she wondered, eyes narrowing as if that would help her see through a throng of people easier.

"The Dixons," Heather spat out as if it were a curse instead of a family name. Amaleen looked at her quizzically, eyebrows raised as she looked back to the couple. Dasha looked as if she just sucked on a lemon, and Amaleen understood why just a second later.

"The fuck y'all starin' at?!" a loud voice demanded over the sound of conversations and music. "Ain't nothin' ta see here, sugartits, g'back ta yer dry-humpin' 'n let a man get his beer."

Amaleen frowned and raised an eyebrow, seeing Heather scoff. "Not good folk?" she asked.

The couple both shook their heads. "Not in the least," Heather said. "The youngest is only 'bout four years older'n you." Heather's southern accent got even deeper the more drunk she got and Amaleen had trouble not smiling about that. "But the older one is mid-thirties. Their momma died 'bout seventeen years ago. I 'member it 'cause my granddaddy lived on their street. She burnt up inside their house. Husband'n sons come home ta firetrucks'n cops all over their land. Old lady, she was an alcoholic'n passed out. Dropped her cigarette in a spilled liquor bottle'n _poof_ , no more house'n no more Momma Dixon."

That was actually really sad and Amaleen felt her heart going out to them despite the reputation that Heather was building. "The guys are still bad?" she wondered softly.

Dasha nodded and spoke this time. "I came here when I was fourteen. Their father was still alive then. He only died about a year or two ago. But he used to beat those boys something silly. Only thing is they followed right along in his footsteps: drinking, smoking, drugs, sex, fighting, stealing..." She shrugged. "Heather is five years younger than me, but I remember the oldest, Merle, was in my class. Dropped out when senior year hit and never looked back. Not like he had been there a lot before that anyway."

Amaleen's eyes drifted back and finally the crowd parted enough, or rather they were shoved hard enough, that the brothers in question could get through. The age difference was clear: Merle looked about forty to forty-five, though considering Dasha was mid-thirties, then he was younger than that. Must've been the life he led. The other one, though, he did look to be twenty-five and honestly he didn't look like he took a hit of much of anything in his life. Amaleen remembered from Shoulder Port the town drunk there, Ed Jefferies, died from an overdose. He looked to be about fifty when he died, but really he was about thirty-seven and it was the years of drugs hitting him and aging him. She remembered his spiral and it didn't look like the younger one did that.

For some reason, her eyes stayed locked on him, watching as he stayed silent and Merle Dixon shoved some people off their stool and ordered some beers for him and his brother. After the brothers had settled, the atmosphere went back to how it had been, even though it was a bit tense and people shot wary, suspicious eyes to the pair. It seemed they were used to it as neither of them turned around.

The sound of Heather speaking again drew Amaleen's gaze away from him and back to her new friends. "What's the younger one's name?" she wondered, glancing back one more time.

"Him?" Dasha said, her nose scrunching up. "That one is Daryl."

 _Daryl_. The name ran through her mind and she decided she rather liked it. Not that she wanted to, though he certainly didn't seem like his brother, sitting there silently and sipping his beer, eyes down on the countertop and shoulders hunched in a tense position. But Heather and Dasha knew the two of them much better than she did, so she decided just to stay out of it.

"Y'okay?" Heather asked, waving a hand in front of Amaleen's face as she realized that the young woman had gone silent. It drew Amaleen out of a daze from her study of the man and her cheeks went pink, looking away to Heather's stern face. "Y'probably don't believe us, 'n that's understandable. But trust me, hun, y'don't wanna get mixed up in the likes of a Dixon. Ain't good enough fer ya."

Amaleen nodded and the subject was dropped.

.x.x.x.x.

Time to leave was a couple hours later when the bar thinned out and the only people left were the bartender, a couple dancing to some slow George Strait song, the three women, and the Dixon brothers. Amaleen finished off her last beer, swaying lightly in her seat, and managing to stagger to her feet.

"Gotta pee," she said, pointing to the sign over on the far side of the bar that said **RESTROOM** on a crooked wood plank hanging from the dirty ceiling. Heather frowned as she glanced in that direction.

"Hotel is across the street," the blonde pointed out, standing up and managing to get the passed-out Dasha on her feet as well, arm slipping around the woman's waist. They had already spoken to Mrs. Clark about taking a room there so neither Heather nor Dasha would have to drive home so wasted. Amaleen was glad about that, even as she shook her head in protest.

"Gotta pee now," she argued, making Heather shrug and start stumbling for the bar, fishing the room key out of her pocket and drag Dasha at the same time. Amaleen made a bee-line for the bathroom, bladder screaming at her for having so many beers and shots without relieving herself, enough so that she was practically dancing on the way there.

On the way back, she was looking at her feet to try and make them go straight, not noticing that one of the brothers had stood up from his stool, and of course being the newbie drunk that she was, she ran right into the man, making both of them stumble in their spots.

She looked up from where she had knocked against him, a rock-hard chest that her fingers had braced against so she didn't fall over. Eyes followed up his body—a very _very_ nice one at that—and to his face, breath catching softly. Though his face was something marvelous to look at without a doubt, it wasn't what caught her attention, made her heart stutter and her breath catch. No, it was those bright, stern, glaring blue eyes staring her down.


End file.
